Electrothermal hydro-ether cone.



T.C.YOUNG. ELECTRO THERMAL HYDRO -ETHER CONE,

APPLICATION FILE!) JUNE 7. IQII- Patented June 4, 1918.

INVENTOR K THOMAS C. YOUNG his 'Afiorney.

@FFTQE.

THOMAS C. YOUNG, OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA.

IEJIEICT30THERlVlIAL HYDRO-EITHER CONE.

Application filed June 7, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. YOUNG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glendale, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Electrothermal Hydro -Ether Cone, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for applying ether as an anesthetic. The main object of the invention is to provide for supplying moisture along with the ether in such manner as to make the ether more effective, enable less ether to be used, produce anesthesia more quickly and with less harmful efiect on the patient.

Another object of the invention is to provide for effective regulation of the temperature at which the ether is supplied so as to prevent chilling of the lungs or of the blood stream, and avoiding the danger of nephritis or other pathological condition, resulting from such cooling effects.

Another object of the invention is to provide for steady application of the ether, in such manner that the rate of supply does not depend on heat supplied by the breath of the patient, and more definite results can be secured when the breathing is irregular.

A further object of the invention is to provide for the prevention of post-operative shock.

Other objects of the invention will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a device embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, with the cloth acket removed.

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of the cone, with the pneumatic pad device and holder removed.

Fig. A is an inverted plan with the pad in place.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 in Fig. 1, showing one of the heating elements.

Fig. 6 is a section on line 66 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a transverse section of the holder for the pneumatic pad.

The invention comprises a cone 1 formed with a chamber 2 open at its lower end so as to extend over the nose and mouth of the patient, and provided with means for supply of ether and of water thereto, and with means for heating the same. Said cone may be of sheet metal, and may be formed Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1918.

Serial No. 173,262.

with inside and outside walls 3 and 4c and top and bottom walls 5 and 11, with a space 9 between said walls for receiving the heating means. At the upper end of the cone 1 a funnel 6 is provided, said funnel being preferably formed with a vertical partition 6, so as to provide a funnel portion 7 for receiving ether and a portion 8 for receiving water. The funnel portion 7 may open directly into the upper end of the chamber 2, so as to allow other supplied to such funnel to drop directly onto a cloth 1O supported within said chamber; but the water supply portion of the funnel preferably communicates with pipes or fine tubes 13 which extend down within the chamber 2, close to the walls thereof, so as to more effectively distribute the water to said cloth.

Tubes or hollow studs 15 extend through the double walls of the cone so as to admit air to the chamber 2, and I also prefer to provide a larger tube 16 through such wall at each side, closed normally by a sliding closure or gate 17 mounted to move in guideways 18 with sufficient friction to hold the same in whatever position it may be placed.

The evaporating cloth 10 is preferably mounted on a separable member or frame 20, carried by a collar member 21 which fits against the bottom of the cone 1 and is secured thereto by loops 22 on member 21 engaging over pins 23 on the cone, said collar member having an opening communicating with chamber 2. Frame 20 may consist of wires extending upwardly from member 21 and crossing one another so as to extend upward within the chamber 1 and to hold the cloth in approximately cone shape, close to the conical wall of chamber 2. Member 21 may also serve to hold a pad or cushion 24, preferably pneumatic, and consisting for example, of a soft rubber tubular collar conforming to the shape of member 21 and having an inflating tube 26.

The heating means preferably consists of heating elements 27 and 28 mounted within the space 9 aforesaid and consisting for example of resistance wires 28 wound on mica strips 30, said wires of the heating elements being connected to suitable means for supplying current thereto. For this purpose the two wires of a twisted cord supply circuit may be brought in through a hole 34 in an insulator 35 mounted in a lateral extension 36 from the outer wall of cone 1, one

wire, indicated at 38 being connected to one of the heating elements aforesaid and the other wire 39 being-connected-to a thermostat 40 from which a wire 41 leads to another of the heating elements, said heating elements being connected in series by suit- :able wires, so that when the wires 38 and39 are in connection through a suitable wall plug or otherwise with a supply circuit, and

the-thermostat 40 is closed, current will flow through all of saidheating elements. 'Thermostat 40 is preferably provided with a regulating screw 44 whereby it may beadjusted to cut off the heating current at any desired temperature. A thermometer 45 may be provided at theuppcr part of chamber 2 for checking the temperatureby actual .observation. Ivpre'fer to provide a jacket or cloth covering 46 for the device secured thereto .in any suitable manner, and .lnclos- .ing the same in suchmanner as to retain'the .heat in the'device and prevent overheating :theoperatorshand. I prefer to make the outer wall 4 of cone 1 of aluminum,.so asto retain the heat in the cone, and to make the inner wall 3 ofvcopper to conduct the'heat more readily to the evaporating chamber within the cone.

' The operation is as follows: The pneumatic pad 24 having been inflated the cloth 10 placed over-the frame 20 and'holder '21 secured on the bottom ofthe cone 1, the device is placed over the nose and mouth of the patient, and current is supplied through wires 38 and 39 so as to warm the cone.

Ether is then supplied through funnel portion .7and-water through funnelportion 8,

and the waterrunning down through tubes 13 is distributed on to the cloth .10 so that the ether which also falls on to such cloth and is evaporated therefrom is mixed with water .vapor, the heat suppliedby the electriciheating meansbeing suflicient tomainta1n .a temperature most suitable for the evaporatlonof the etherand water and to prevent chilling such as would otherwise result .:from the rapid evaporation.

B maintaining the temperature in this man ner ,I not only insure steady and regular evaporation of the ether, but prevent chilling of the air passingto the patients lungs, therebyavoidinginjurious eflects that are liable to result from such chilling, such as post-operative shock, nephritis, or other pathological condition due to chillingof the blood stream.

In case-the patient is lying on his side, the cone is applied in the same manner but in that case one of the side faces of the cone will be presented upwardly and the gate in such faee will :be opened so as to allow other and water to be dropped through the opening 16 thus uncovered. Said gates may also be opened when the device is being used in ."ordmary 21308111011, so as to admit more air for inhalation when necessary. The extension '36 of the casing is in communication with the interior chamber between the outer andinner walls of the cone 1, so that the thermostat is responsive to the temperature adjacent to the walls of the chamber 2, and cuts off ,the'heat when the temperature in chamber 2 rises to the point for which the thermostat -hasfbeen set. Undue heating is thus avoidechwhile at the same time enough heat is insured to thoroughly evaporate the ether and water and prevent accumulation of ether in drops, which would produce irregular evaporation and loss of anesthetic effect.

1. ,Means for application of mixed vapors of water and ether, comprising an outer casing, an inner casing mountedtherein by means of upper and lower transverse wall portions extending between said casings so pors of water and'ether, a 'casing a domeshaped frame mounted on said casing and extending upwardly thereln, an absorbent cloth supported on said frame, an'ether supply funnel having an opening adapted to deliver ether onto said absorbent :cloth, a

.water supply funnel, and a plurality of tubes communicating-with said water'supply funnel and adapted to receive water therefrom and to distribute it to different parts ofsaid absorbent cloth. v

In testimony whereofI have hereunto set my hand, at Glendale, California, this 28th 1 day. of May, 1917.

THOMAS o. YOUNG.

Copies of this patent. may be obtained for five cents eaoh,'by addressing the' commissioner of'Patents, Washington, D. '0. 

